题目内容
To swim across the English Channel takes at least nine hours. It‘s hard work and it makes you short of breath. To fly over the channel takes only twenty minutes as long as you’re not held up at the airport， but it‘s an expensive way to travel. You can travel by hovercraft （气垫船）if you don’t mind the noise and that takes forty minutes. Otherwise， you can go by boat， if you remember your sea-sickness pills. All these means of transport have their problems， and the weary（厌烦的）traveler often dreams of being able to drive to France in his own car. “Not possible， you say. Well， wait a minute. People are once again considering the idea of a channel tunnel or bridge.” This time， the great London Council（议会）is looking into the possibility of building a channel link straight to London. A bridge would cost far more than a tunnel， but you would be able to make a journey by rail or by car on a bridge， yet a tunnel would provide a rail link only. Why is this idea being discussed again？ Is Britain realizing the need for links with Europe as a result of joining EEC？Well， perhaps， the main reason， though， is that a tunnel or bridge would reach the twenty square kilometers of London‘s discussed dockland（船坞）。 A link from London to the continent would stimulate（刺激） trade and revitalize（使重新具有活力）the port， and would make London a main trading center in Europe. With a link over the Channel， you could buy your fish and chips in England and be able to eat them in France while they are still warm！
From the lines we can see that people crossed the Channel by ______ in the past.
A. air B. boat C. swimming D. A， B， or C
The weary traveler thinks the best way to cross the Channel is ______.
A. by swimming B. in his own car C. by air D. by hovercraft
A tunnel would cost______ a bridge.
A. far less than B. as much as C. far more than D. as little as
The main idea of the passage is______.
A. how to develop the trade of London
B. when to cross the Channel
C. how to get to Europe from London more conveniently
D. what to do in the developing of traveling
Long before the white man came to the America, the land belonged to the American Indian nations, The nation of the Cherokees lived in what is now the southeastern part of the United States.
After the white man came, the Cherokees copied many of their ways. One Cherokee named Sequoyah saw how important reading and writing was to the white man. He decided to invent a way to write down the spoken Cherokee language. He began by making word pictures. For each word he drew a picture. But that proved impossible; there were just too many words. Then he took the 85 sounds that made up the language. Using his own imagination and an English spelling book, Sequoyah invented a sign for each sound. His alphabet proved amazingly easy to learn. Before long, many Cherokees knew how to read and write in their own language. By 1828, they were even printing their own newspaper.
In 1830, the US congress passed a law. It allowed the government to remove Indians from their lands. The Cherokees refused to go. They had lived on their lands for centuries. It belonged to them. Why should they go to a strange land far beyond the Mississippi River?
The army was sent to drive the Cherokees out. Soldiers surrounded their villages and marched them at gunpoint into the western territory. The sick, the old and the small children went in carts, along with their belongings. The rest of the people marched on foot or rode on horseback. It was November, yet many of them still wore their summer clothes. Cold and hungry, the Cherokees were quickly exhausted by the hardships of journey. Many dropped dead and were buried by the roadside. When the last group arrived in their new home in March 1839, more than 4000 had died. It was in deed a march of death.
The Cherokee Nation used to live____________.
A. on the American continent B. in the southeastern part of the US
C. beyond the Mississippi River D. in the western territory
One of the ways that Sequoyah copied from the white man is the way of__________.
A. writing down the spoken language B. making word pictures
C. teaching his people reading D. printing their own newspaper
A law was passed in 1830 to__________.
A. allow the Cherokees to stay where they were
B. send the army to help the Cherokees
C. force the Cherokees to move westward
D. forbid the Cherokees to read their newspaper
When the Cherokees began to leave their lands, __________.
A. they went in carts B. they went on horseback
C. they marched on foot D. all of the above
Many Cherokees died on their way to their new home mainly because________.
A. they were not willing to go there
B. the government did not provide transportation
C. they did not have enough food and clothes
D. the journey was long and boring
It was shortly before midnight, and Dr Patricia was getting ready for bed. The phone rang on the end of the line was a woman about to break a promise.
The woman was her mother’s neighbor. Flora Harris had made the neighbor swear she wouldn’t tell her daughter she’d had a heart attack and was in the hospital, for fear her daughter would worry. The neighbor wisely decided to disobey orders.
Harris desperately wanted to get to the hospital immediately, but she couldn’t. She lives in Washington, D. C, and her mother lives in California.
For the past year a half, Harris has gone to Los Angeles every other month to take care of her mother. Flora Harris takes care of her husband, James, who’s 91 and has Alzheimer’s disease. They live in their own home, and a caregiver comes to help them a few hours a day.
Harris is one of many Americans facing the heartache of how to take care of aging parents from afar. She’s often worried, not to mention exrtemely busy with a demanding job, two teenage daughters and the frequent trips to California.
In some ways, Harris is lucky. She has the resources to make the trips to Los Angeles. Plus, Harris is a doctor who treats the elderly.
“But it’s still tough,” she says. “I can foresee what the next few years are going to look like, and it’s not a pretty picture. My father’s going to need diapers (尿布). There will come a time when he won’t recognize me and he’s easily excited. I worry he’s going to be violent and hurt my mother.”
So what do you do when you live a continent away from your aging, sick parents? There are no magic answers. You can hire someone to help, but you can’t oursource it completely.
Why was the woman thought to have broken a promise?
A.She failed to take care of Flora.
B.She was not supposed to call Harris at midnight.
C.She couldn’t go to hospital on time.
D.She told Harris about her mother’s illness.
What can we learn about Patricia Harris from the passage?
A.She thinks it harder to look after her parents the next few years.
B.Her parents cannot take of themselves at all.
C.She cannot do a demanding job.
D.She cannot afford to go to California often.
What does the underlined word “outsource” in the last paragragh mean?
A.Arrange somebody outside to do a job.
B.Work something out by oneself.
C.Speak something out for help.
D.Understand something.
What’s the main idea of this passage?
A.Aging people in the USA are increasing.
B.The rate of heart disease is high in America.
C.It is difficult to tend aging parents from afar.
D.Harris advises on tending aging parents from afar.
Read the passage carefully． Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words．Hidden deep in our subconscious is an idyllic（牧歌般的，田园诗式的）vision． We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent． We are traveling by train． Out the windows, we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls． But uppermost in our minds is the final destination． On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station． Bands will be playing and flags waving． Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle． How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for hanging around—waiting, waiting, waiting for the station． “When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry． “When I’m 18．”; “When I buy a new 450SL Mercedes Benz!”; “When I put the last kid through college．”; “When I paid off the mortgage!”; “When I get a promotion．”; “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!” Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all． The true joy of life is the trip． The station is only a dream． It constantly outdistances us． “Relish（享受）the moment” is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 180: 24: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it．” It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad, it is the regrets over yesterday and fear of tomorrow． Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today． So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles． Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less． Life must be lived as we go along． The station will come soon enough．（Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TWELVE WORDS．）【小题1】What does the author of this passage compare life to?______________________________________________________________________________．【小题2】 Hidden in the uppermost part of our minds is________________________________．【小题3】Life is made dull and boring by______________________________________【小题4】According to the author, what is the true meaning of life?___________________________________________________________________________
Australian Flag Designs by Readers of the Sun-Herald
We received dozens of responses after inviting readers to send in their designs for a new flag. The designs we received include:
James Anthony, Drummoyne
James reduces the Union Jack down in size and changes its shape to become a reminder of the British tradition rather than canceling it altogether. At the same time he suggests enlarging the stars of the Southern Cross. His design attempts to use the best of both worlds in a newly designed flag.
As he says, “the British part of the Australian Flag is too big and the Australian bits are too small. When you make the stars bigger the Australian flag can look impressive.”
Joe Bollen, Turranmurra
Joe’s flag has the main elements of a risen sun, white horizon(地平线), red earth at the base and the Southern Cross. He intends to make the risen sun a special Australian symbol on the flag. He believes it represents life. The Southern Cross shows that we live in the Southern Hemisphere. (半球)
Maria Ieraci, Sydney
Maria deleted the Union Jack but otherwise kept the flag as is with the Southern Cross and Federation Star. She says, ‘There is only one correct way to change the Australian flag” and that is “to drop the Union Jack ---- when Australia becomes a Republic”, which she hopes will be before 2010.
Ron Bennett, Sydney
Ron recommends using the Aboriginal colors but replacing their image of the sun with the map of Australia. He says, “Australia is unique being an island continent with an instantly recognizable outline at that” and “this will leave no doubt as to which country the flag belongs.”
1.Which of the four designs can remind you of the past of the country?
A. Joe’s B. Maria’s C. Ron’s D. Jame’s
2.The Southern Cross in some of the designs represents _________.
A. the spirit of the nation B. the position of the country
C. the tradition of Britain D. the expectations of the people
3.What does the Union Jack refer to?
A.the British flag B. A former British ruler
C. group of stars D. A former symbol of Australia
4.Which of the following shows the correct matches of the designs and their designers?
A. by Maria by Ron by Joe by James
B. by Joe by Maria by James by Ron
C. by Ron by James by Maria by Joe
D. by James by Joe by Ron by Maria
同步练习强化拓展系列答案同步练习强化拓展系列答案同步练习强化拓展系列答案
